In April 2020, Dr. David Nabarro, a WHO special envoy on COVID, singled out India’s coronavirus response for praise, saying ‘Indians know how to do it’, after the country decisively locked down the entire country to prevent the disease from spreading. What we see in India today tells a very different story. As cases have continued to rise, the most vulnerable in India have been hit hardest by the lockdown, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is using the lockdown as a way to suppress his critics and make dramatic changes to the Indian state.